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30 (A)Then Moses said to the sons of Israel, “See, Yahweh has called by name Bezalel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 And He has filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom, in discernment, and in knowledge, and in all [a]craftsmanship; 32 to devise [b]designs for working in gold and in silver and in [c]bronze, 33 and in the cutting of stones for settings and in the carving of wood, so as to do well in every work of thoughtful design. 34 He also has put in his heart to teach, both he and (B)Oholiab, the son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 (C)He has filled them with [d]wisdom in their heart to do every work of an engraver and of a designer and of an embroiderer, in [e]blue and in purple and in scarlet material and in fine linen, and of a weaver, as those who do every work and make designs.

36 “Now Bezalel and Oholiab and every person [f]wise at heart, to whom Yahweh has given [g]wisdom and discernment to know how to do all the work of the service of constructing the sanctuary, shall do in accordance with all that Yahweh has commanded.”

Making the Tabernacle

Then Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every person [h]wise at heart to whom Yahweh had given [i]wisdom, (D)everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to do it. And they received from Moses the entire [j]contribution which the sons of Israel had brought [k]to do the work in the service of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning. And all the [l]wise men who were doing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from [m]the work which [n]he was doing, and they said to [o]Moses, “(E)The people are bringing much more than enough for the service of the work which Yahweh commanded us to [p]do.” So Moses commanded and a [q]proclamation was passed throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman any longer do the work for the [r]contributions of the sanctuary.” Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more. (F)Indeed, the [s]material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to do it.

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 35:31 Or work
  2. Exodus 35:32 Lit devices
  3. Exodus 35:32 Or copper
  4. Exodus 35:35 Or skill
  5. Exodus 35:35 Or violet
  6. Exodus 36:1 Or skillful
  7. Exodus 36:1 Or skill
  8. Exodus 36:2 Or skillful
  9. Exodus 36:2 Or skill
  10. Exodus 36:3 Lit heave offering
  11. Exodus 36:3 Lit to perform it for the work
  12. Exodus 36:4 Or skillful
  13. Exodus 36:4 Lit his
  14. Exodus 36:4 Lit they were
  15. Exodus 36:5 Lit Moses, saying,
  16. Exodus 36:5 Lit do it
  17. Exodus 36:6 Lit voice
  18. Exodus 36:6 Lit heave offering
  19. Exodus 36:7 Lit work

30 Moses said to the Israelites, “See, the Lord has chosen[a] Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. 31 He has filled him with the Spirit of God—with skill, with understanding, with knowledge, and in all kinds of work— 32 to design artistic designs, to work in gold, in silver, and in bronze, 33 and in cutting stones for their setting,[b] and in cutting wood, to do work in every artistic craft.[c] 34 And he has put it in his heart[d] to teach, he and Oholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan. 35 He has filled them with skill[e] to do all kinds of work[f] as craftsmen, as designers, as embroiderers in blue, purple, and scarlet yarn and in fine linen, and as weavers. They are[g] craftsmen in all the work[h] and artistic designers.[i] 36 So Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person[j] in whom the Lord has put skill[k] and ability[l] to know how[m] to do all the work for the service[n] of the sanctuary are to do the work[o] according to all that the Lord has commanded.”

Moses summoned[p] Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person in whom[q] the Lord had put skill—everyone whose heart stirred him[r] to volunteer[s] to do the work. They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to do[t] the work for the service of the sanctuary, and they still continued to bring him a freewill offering each morning.[u] So all the skilled people who were doing all the work on the sanctuary came from the work[v] they were doing and told Moses, “The people are bringing much more than[w] is needed for the completion[x] of the work which the Lord commanded us to do!”[y]

Moses instructed them to take[z] his message[aa] throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman do anymore work for the offering for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing any more.[ab] Now the materials were more than enough[ac] for them to do all the work.[ad]

Footnotes

  1. Exodus 35:30 tn Heb “called by name” (so KJV, ASV, NASB, NRSV). This expression means that the person was specifically chosen for some important task (S. R. Driver, Exodus, 342). See the expression with Cyrus in Isa 45:3-4.
  2. Exodus 35:33 tn Heb “to set.”
  3. Exodus 35:33 tn Heb “in every work of thought,” meaning, every work that required the implementation of design or plan.
  4. Exodus 35:34 sn The expression means that God has given them the ability and the desire to teach others how to do the work. The infinitive construct “to teach” is related to the word Torah, “instruction, guide, law.” They will be able to direct others in the work.
  5. Exodus 35:35 tn The expression “wisdom of heart,” or “wisdom in heart,” means artistic skill. The decisions and plans they make are skilled. The expression forms a second accusative after the verb of filling.
  6. Exodus 35:35 tn The expression “all the work” means “all kinds of work.”
  7. Exodus 35:35 tn Here “They are” has been supplied.
  8. Exodus 35:35 tn Heb “doers of all work.”
  9. Exodus 35:35 tn Heb “designers of designs.”
  10. Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “wise of [in] heart.”
  11. Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “wisdom.”
  12. Exodus 36:1 tn Heb “understanding, discernment.”
  13. Exodus 36:1 tn The relative clause includes this infinitive clause that expresses either the purpose or the result of God’s giving wisdom and understanding to these folk.
  14. Exodus 36:1 tn This noun is usually given an interpretive translation. B. Jacob renders the bound relationship as “the holy task” or “the sacred task” (Exodus, 1019). The NIV makes it “constructing,” so read “the work of constructing the sanctuary.”
  15. Exodus 36:1 tn The first word of the verse is a perfect tense with vav (ו) consecutive; it is singular because it agrees with the first of the compound subject. The sentence is a little cumbersome because of the extended relative clause in the middle.
  16. Exodus 36:2 tn The verb קָרָא (qaraʾ) plus the preposition “to”—“to call to” someone means “to summon” that person.
  17. Exodus 36:2 tn Here there is a slight change: “in whose heart Yahweh had put skill.”
  18. Exodus 36:2 tn Or “whose heart was willing.”
  19. Exodus 36:2 sn The verb means more than “approach” or “draw near”; קָרַב (qarav) is the word used for drawing near the altar as in bringing an offering. Here they offer themselves, their talents and their time.
  20. Exodus 36:3 tn In the Hebrew text the infinitive “to do it” comes after “sanctuary”; it makes a smoother rendering in English to move it forward, rather than reading “brought for the work.”
  21. Exodus 36:3 tn Heb “in the morning, in the morning.”
  22. Exodus 36:4 tn Heb “a man, a man from his work”; or “each one from his work.”
  23. Exodus 36:5 tn The construction uses the verbal hendiadys: מַרְבִּים לְהָבִיא (marbim lehaviʾ) is the Hiphil participle followed (after the subject) by the Hiphil infinitive construct. It would read, “they multiply…to bring,” meaning, “they bring more” than is needed.
  24. Exodus 36:5 tn Heb “for the service” (so KJV, ASV).
  25. Exodus 36:5 tn The last clause is merely the infinitive with an object—“to do it.” It clearly means the skilled workers are to do it.
  26. Exodus 36:6 tn The verse simply reads, “and Moses commanded and they caused [a voice] to cross over in the camp.” The second preterite with the vav may be subordinated to the first clause, giving the intent (purpose or result).
  27. Exodus 36:6 tn Heb “voice.”
  28. Exodus 36:6 tn The verse ends with the infinitive serving as the object of the preposition: “from bringing.”
  29. Exodus 36:7 tn This part of the sentence comes from the final verb, the Hiphil infinitive—leave over, meaning, have more than enough (see BDB 451 s.v. יָתַר).
  30. Exodus 36:7 tn Heb “for all the work, to do it.”sn This lengthy section (35:1-36:7) forms one of the most remarkable sections in the book. Here there is a mixture of God’s preparation of people to do the work and their willingness to give and to serve. It not only provides insight into this renewed community of believers, but it also provides a timeless message for the church. The point is clear enough: In response to God’s commission, and inspired by God’s Spirit, the faithful and willing people rally to support and participate in the Lord’s work.